User Reviews

I am a 68 year old male 185 at 5-9. Been MTB since 1990. I ride mostly in the North Lake Tahoe Region, near Tahoe City and Truckee, Calif. I also ride in the Folsom Lake area of Calif. I am not a bike techy so I do not go too far down the road on componentry, but like stuff that works and works well, under demanding conditions.

I ride everything, with some fear limitations, from fast on rolling cruiser fire roads to fairly steep and technical single tracks, not so fast. Some are very technical and twisty.

I did a lot of research before buying my new ride especially weighing 29er vs 650B (27.5).
I have been riding a 26 Specialized S Works Enduro FSR for 7 years and have enjoyed the ride. My budget was under $4000.

I test rode a number of bikes, mostly on the street, jumping curbs and climbing. I never felt that different on a 650B than on my 26, a little more able to go over stuff, but no great shakes.

The 29er, even on the street felt totally different. You could really feel more comfortable going down stairs and just going straight at a curb with no issues.

I finally had narrowed down my search to the Scott Genius , Trek Remedy and the Stumpjumper Comp.

I talked to my LBS in Tahoe City, Ca, Olympic Bike. John and Peter spent loads of time discussing the pros and cons of 29 v 650B.

Peter had talked to me a few weeks earlier had recommended the EVO, saying it fit in the type of the terrain we had in the area and my type of riding.

So I finally get a chance to go there and see their stock. John shows me a really good deal on a 2014 Comp, not EVO. He says the difference mostly between the two is geometry and the rake of the front wheel. I should try them both.

I took out a demo 29er comp and ride a section of a single track that is not steep but is very rocky and twisty. I take it to what I would normally, on my 26, have to pick my way thru the rocks and roots, and tentative about it, no problem you just go right over everything. No line just make one. WOW.

I rode thru that section faster than I ever have, much less effort and no issues with quick turns
I finished that section and knew right then, this was the bike.[

So I go back to the shop and I am happy, not only I have I found a great bike but I get a great deal on a 2014 model.

Oops, the first part was right the bike was great, but they had inadvertently put me on the EVO instead of the Comp. Not as great a deal $$ wise but the EVO was it.

I have ridden the bike on a number of trails in Marin, China camp, which has some tech, but mostly twisty trails, great climbing 2x10 works great.

Did some minor tweaks and rode Folsom Lake, much more tech, handled much better than my 26 and was much more stable.

Pros so far, everything, even the trigger shifters work as well or better than the XTR on my 26.

The only cons so far are, the drop seat that comes with the EVO is only 3 position, where I had the Rock Shox Reverb, multi on the 26. So I am switching it to the 29er.

The brakes levers feel a little soft, but that may be an adjustment. Brakes work great.

One last comment. As I stated earlier, I started riding in 1990, mostly with SPD pedals. Two years ago I bought the Teva flat Pedal Shoes and the Tru-Vativ Flat Pedal. I liked the idea of getting my foot off quickly, which I could do somewhat with the SPD, but I never felt great climbing with them, felt like I was slipping off.

With the new bike, I was given, as part of the purchase, a pair of Specialized Flat Pedals. I hadn’t really ridden the bike yet with the Teva’s, as I was debating to go back to SPD.

The first climb I did with the Spesh Pedals and the Tevas, convinced me, the Pedals were the problem. Now I can climb with confidence even through technical terrain.

I will be riding in Tahoe in the next few weeks and will give an updated review.

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
Andrew
a All Mountain Rider

Date Reviewed: April 5, 2014

Strengths: This for the 2014 Alu Evo Amazing climbing & just flows down hill amazingly. Handles very well & just feels soooo balanced. I was riding an 2013 F2 Cannondale hard tail & the EVO just OWNS the Canondale on trails up & down. I had the best riding in a long long time today & had Mud, Snow, hard pack, rocks & drops & the EV) owned it all.

Weaknesses: Gears work well just not amazing, The Formula Brakes don't have much feel in the leavers but stop well but can make some mating elk noises from the back brake mostly. In mud the Formula Brakes do not clear well & not much room for mud with the frame but handles well.I would give it 5 Chili's if the brakes were better. Play with the rebound & fork pressure for your weight & riding style as that is night & day with this bike. Was not a fan of this bike set up out of the store, but a bit of tinkering & WOW... totally different bike

Bottom Line:

I have had this bike 3 weeks now & honestly had a very hard time getting into this bike. I was freaking that I should of got the XL. I am 6 ft but with a long torso, plus the EVO is a lot taller than my last bike. I fitted a longer stem on before my ride today & spent a bit of time setting the bike up for me & WOW I loved ever second of the ride & just flowed. I had a 1.5 hour uphill followed by bombing down. I was passing a bunch of people up & down the trail. It had parts of the trail that was just a bog ( Mud season in CO) & the evo just felt planted all the time. If there are better bikes out there it would be single % differences in my opinion. Honestly I may change the brakes out & get some different lighter wheels in a few seasons for handling purposes. This bike just feels light even though my F2 is a lot lighter you just do not feel the weight of the Specialized . love my new EVO For the $$$ you can not go wrong... get one.... It is just a true mountain bike. Not too cross country not too down hill. Specialized hit the mark on the head for the guy who wants to have fun up & down & not interested in racing XC but wants to have the most fun out on the trail. I weigh 180 at around 6ft & set the shocks on trail mode mostly & eats up everything but when the trail gets a bit more serious you can open up the socks & the the bike floats down the trail. FUN times & a happy guy...

Description of me, 5'7, inseam of 30in, I ride a small and I have plenty of clearance from the top tube for me. Trail here are jeep road, rocky and roots type single tracks, with the fact that all trails starts sea level so in order to go down you have to climb always.

The valve is what took me by surprise. Suspension is 135mm but it feels like 150mm. I like the fact this bike came with a chain tensioner, dropper seat post and tubeless option which is most likely the items I would have added later. $$ saved. Brakes are ok, but I did have the problems with Avid 5 on my 26" Camber with vibration and noisy operation so kind of bias to those brakes. I'm not a jumper type rider but I'm confident this bike will handed big jumps. I like to manual a lot and lifting up the front takes a bit of muscle to do so. The components are mid-level in my standards and they run flawless. So far all nuts and bolts have stayed tight no leaking of shock air and tubeless rims.

Strengths: Climbs on the trees, descends like a rocket, turns as well as a 26er (maybe better...),well suspended, top equipment for the value, make me feel a better rider than I really am...

Weaknesses: A little bit heavy...maybe, but at that price (I got it with 30% discount!) I can't complain about anything.

Bottom Line:

I just came from an excellent YETI 575 and I really didn't think that it was possible to find a better bike...before I triend my first Specialized 29er... It makes me much more confident on any terrain.
It's just a bit less fun than a 26er, but it is so perfect and fast on dwnhills that it makes me forget averything I've riden till now!
I only ride in the french Pyrenees and most of the time on "enduro" trails and this bike just makes me smile each time I take it.
My 18 years old son who was much faster than I before, stays behind now!!!! Not for a long time maybe...but behind :-).
If you want to fall in love with a 29er, this is, with Transition Bandit, Kona Satori and Niner's, one the best bike you can ride, honestly.

Strengths: The black on black for 2014 is sexy. This bike climbs exceptionally well for a trail bike. The suspension is very plush and efficient. Ounce per ounce, the Revelation fork has to be one of the best in this price range. Pretty standard comp set on the bike. They finally got the command dropper post dialed in for 2014. Absolutely no wiggle and the new internal routing down the top tube is cleaner than before.

Weaknesses: Not sold on the Formula C1 brakes yet. Could be installer's error but the rear brake on the second DH section sounded like a donkey in heat and had tons of vibration. Will update soon.

Bottom Line:

This is for the 2014 model.After a month of being on order from my LBS, this guy finally rolled through the door on Friday. Took it out on a couple of rides and I have some feedback for you all.

I got a size XL for my 6'3" frame and 36" inseam. The front end is tall to help the rider be in a neutral position on the bike on gnarly downhill segments. It just felt a lot different from the Epic Expert Carbon 29 XL I was coming from.

My first ride I noticed climbing was a little awkward compared to the Epic I came from (more on this later). The front end is TALL, the stock stem is pretty long, and the handlebars are WIDE. This all made exaggerating the turn a necessity as it took more in the form of turning to get up the technical switchbacks I was climbing. Upon descending, I noticed one thing immediately... the suspension is awesome. I opened it up, adjusted the rebound to fast and switched from climb to descend on the Fox Float CTD and it responded amazingly. I also was a huge fan of the Revelation fork. Very plush and adjustable for climbs and descents. The actuation of the dropper command post is smooth (NO seat wiggle this year either!). For the downhill I did, the middle position was perfect. It was very easy to actuate the dropper on the fly no matter where you were on the trail. Very well placed trigger. The DH section that usually took a lot of body english and effort on the EPIC seemed like a stroll through the park on the stumpy evo. I didn't really push the bike since we were just getting acquainted. At the bottom of the hill I checked Strava and was disappounted to find that I finished considerably slower that my PR I had set for that DH segment on Strava. I knew the bike could be pushed hard and wanted to go faster... it was totally rider error and getting used to the new rig.

Before heading back up the hill, I wanted to make a few adjustments to achieve a similar fit to the Epic that I felt so comfortable on. First I adjusted the seat position. I moved the seat as far forward and down as it would go. This was necessary especially with the XL frame, the seat tube angle makes the seat angle back more than a M or L size frame. This new position for me helped me still feel "in" the bike (especially with the post dropped) but gave me that sense of control and power of being on "top" of it while climbing. It also helped with my sore taint. I was definitely feeling it from that first climb. Once that was done I went back up the hill. I instantly felt more at home and my taint was thanking me. I crushed my PR on that climb that I set on my Epic! I was shocked. Consider that... with my new stumpy evo, I demolished a PR I had set the week before on a pure XC carbon bike ... needless to say this thing holds its own on climbs. On the second go on the DH section, I PR'd again. Not by much, but as I get more comfortable on this bike I can see that time getting lower and lower. I was still holding it back. The adjustments were spot on. This bike rips once you get a feel for the geometry and make the adjustments you need to.

GRIPES. The brakes. I did not bed the brakes in like I should have but thought they would be fine given that they weren't the Avids this time around. About half way through my second ever descent on this bike (the PR one) the front brake started a high squeal but still braked well, but the back brake sounded like a donkey in heat and vibrated the whole bike to the point of losing control. I will update the review on this once I get this figured out. I'm going to take it in and have it looked at, but this makes me nervous. The shiftings need to be adjusted on the X9 in the back. Not too sure the kid at the LBS spent a lot of time lining them up. Other than that, its all good.

Oh, and the Black on black is dead sexy. I'm going to slap some red CB mallet 3's on here next week too. Not that it really matters, but I like looking at the bike when I'm not riding it.

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
Adam Huff
a All Mountain Rider

Date Reviewed: August 20, 2013

Strengths: Very well built, very smooth and capable suspension. Alot of attention to detail with the cable routing and overall appearance of the bike. A blast to ride over all types of terrain. Very capable for climbing and descending.

Weaknesses: None. By far the best bike I have ever owned. Love the autosag feature.

Bottom Line:

The bike is alot of fun to climb and descend with. Specialized has really done well with this bike. Completely satisfied with my purchase.

Strengths: Descending!!!!! Handling, bump absorption, All out Fun!
I wouldn't exactly say climbing is awesome but I'm coming from a carbon hardtail 26er. Compared to other trail bikes I have ridden I would say that the climbing is great.

Weaknesses: None

Bottom Line:

I am 5'11" about 170lbs and I purchased the large frame. I like the way this size feels to me. The medium seems a little to cramped and so the large fits perfect. Coming from a hardtail 26er, this bike took about 5 rides to get used too. I used to ride a trail bike years ago (26er) and missed the fun that comes from having some travel to play with. I like hitting whatever jumps come my way and playing on the trail. Every bump, log, rock becomes something to get air off of and I love it. Raleigh, NC doesn't really justify this kind of travel but I try and make it out to the Smoky's whenever possible (Asheville, NC area) and this bike is so much fun out there. I plan on moving west in about a year or so and from riding trails in Sedona, Flagstaff, and Phoenix I purchased this bike with that in mind. Moab will not be far either and I cannot wait to get out there.
This bike is amazing! I might consider putting some riser bars on it but that's about it.

Strengths: This bike is stupid fast and nimble when pointed down hill! It climbs as well as I do, it's not really my strong point and is very flickable in the air when jumbing. I came off a Giant Talon 0 that I wasted in 5 months because i was doing things on it that it wasnt made for like 6 foot drops and airing it out a little to much. But this bike looks to be built 10 time tougher and has handled everything that i have thrown at it so far with no problems. The suspension is very plush but can handle big hits once you dial in your pressure and settings.

Weaknesses: None so far

Bottom Line:

This bike makes it to easy but in a good way and is a blast to ride. I'm 5'11 and I bought a med and love the way it fits me. I do prefer smaller frames and the large just seemed a little to long for me in the cockpit. If your looking for a bike to shred down hills and air out but also ride single track and pretty much anything else this is your bike.

I rode an excellent Specialized XC FSR 26er for 4 years before purchasing this Stumpjumper FSR EVO 29, my first 29er. I immediately felt the stiffness and stability of a 29er trail bike compared to my XC 26er. This bike gave me a lot of confidence in descends and the bigger wheels lift me over many more obstacles in technical climbs. The heavier weight does slow me down a little in smoother climbs but that is very a small sacrifice.
In conclusion, it elevates my skills into the next level. Although I am slightly worried that I won't learn as many skills as with a less capable bike because it is very forgiving with rider errors.
I am nearly 6' tall and weight 200 pounds loaded and the size L is perfect for me.